Jasper Wolfe of Skibbereen

Stories are still told in West Cork about Jasper Wolfe. He led a remarkable and dangerous existence in the turbulent early years of the twentieth century. A highly successful lawyer in Skibbereen, he was a strong supporter of Home Rule and gave an acclaimed speech at the rally in London in 1912 that launched the Irish Protestant Home Rule movement. After Easter 1916 he was appointed Crown Solicitor for the City and West Riding of Cork, and put the Crown case at the inquest into the murder of the Republican Lord Mayor of Cork. Having been thrice sentenced to death by the IRA, he became a defense lawyer for dissident Republicans after the Civil War. In 1927 he was elected to the Dail as an Independent candidate. Jasper Wolfe was clever, convivial, and hard drinking. Personally fearless, he was cherished for the stories of his exploits. More seriously, he stood for an Ireland at peace and at ease with itself.